How celebrities' 'golden glow' shines on public health

Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds.

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel got emotional as he revealed on air that son William was born April 21 with a serious heart issue. Those emotions spilled into his comments about the importance of health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions and his feelings on health care policy.

Hide Caption

1 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

After undergoing a preventative double mastectomy in 2013 due to high risk of breast cancer, actress Angelina Jolie became an advocate for genetic testing and screening for women. A Harvard study found that testing rates for the BRCA gene went up 64% after Jolie's announcement about her health. The phenomenon has been termed "The Angelina Jolie effect."

Hide Caption

2 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Since the death of TV personality Katie Couric's husband, Jay Monahan, from colon cancer in 1998, she has become a tireless advocate for regular colorectal screenings and increased awareness of the deadly disease. After she staged a weeklong awareness campaign in 2000, research shows, the number of colonoscopies increased by almost 20% nationwide.

Hide Caption

3 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Actor and author Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1991 but did not announce it until 1998. In 2000, he launched the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, and he remains active in fundraising for stem cell research.

Hide Caption

4 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

In 2007, Playboy model-turned-TV-personality Jenny McCarthy announced that her son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism. In 2008, she began arguing that vaccines can cause autism, despite experts' adamant denials. In more recent interviews, she has stated that she is not purely "anti-vaccine," continuing the debate.

Hide Caption

5 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Charlie Sheen may be most widely known for his bad boy reputation and erratic behavior, but when the actor revealed in 2015 that he was HIV-positive, it shifted the focus around him. Sheen has become a strong advocate for HIV and STD testing. He is also a brand ambassador for a condom company.

Hide Caption

6 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

"Wolverine" actor Hugh Jackman appeared with a bandage on his nose in a 2013 Instagram post in which he revealed he had undergone treatment for basal cell carcinoma. The actor has had more procedures for the skin cancer. He promotes the use of sunscreen and advises his followers to get checked frequently.

Hide Caption

7 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Creator of the HBO series "Girls," Lena Dunham has been an outspoken voice for women's and LGBT issues. When she was hospitalized with complications of endometriosis, she took to social media to promote Planned Parenthood and LGBT clinics that supply care for those who may otherwise not have access to it.

Hide Caption

8 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

In 2005, actress Brooke Shields brought attention to postpartum depression when Tom Cruise criticized her use of antidepressants. A year later, she wrote a book, "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression," in which she candidly shares her feelings of depression and suicidal thoughts.

Hide Caption

9 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Musician Elton John has said he "took chances with unprotected sex" in the 1980s and is lucky to have avoided the AIDS epidemic. He founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 to raise awareness and funds for HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention. The star began hosting his annual Academy Awards party in 1993, which has become one of the highest-profile Oscar parties in the film industry, and has used the gathering to raise over $200 million for the organization.

Hide Caption

10 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

In 1938, New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. He retired from baseball and died nearly two years later, after bringing national and international attention to the disease.

Hide Caption

11 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

When basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson tested positive for HIV in 1991, he did not think he would live long. Misinformation about the condition was common, and few treatments were available. Today, Johnson spends his time investing in African-American communities, raising awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

Hide Caption

12 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

In 2007, "Good Morning America" host Robin Roberts was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer. She shared her journey, taking viewers along when she shaved her head as her hair began to fall out. Those personal moments and her continued advocacy have raised awareness about the difficulties associated with a diagnosis of breast cancer and treatments.

Hide Caption

13 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

American actor Christopher Reeve is best known for his role as Superman in the 1970s and '80s films. In 1995, Reeve was thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition and left paralyzed, forced to rely on a wheelchair and a portable ventilator. He founded the Christopher Reeve Foundation and spent the remainder of his life lobbying on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries and for stem cell research.

Hide Caption

14 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

"Supernatural" and "Gilmore Girls" star Jared Padalecki revealed in 2015 that he had suffered from depression for years, and he launched a campaign and charity to focus on the issue: Always Keep Fighting.

Hide Caption

15 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Pop star Demi Lovato has been vocal about her experiences with bulimia and mental health issues, and she uses her platform to criticize body-shaming and unrealistic norms for women. The artist regularly promotes #NoMakeUpMonday on social media.

Hide Caption

16 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Actress Carrie Fisher, who rose to stardom as Princess Leia in the "Star Wars" films, used her fame to share stories of addiction, mental health and family issues. Her transparency and willingness to take on difficult subjects solidified her legacy as a champion for mental health issues.

Hide Caption

17 of 18

Photos:Celebrities bring health issues into the spotlight

Bret Michaels, lead singer of the '80s rock band Poison, has had type I diabetes for over 40 years. It wasn't until 1987, when he collapsed onstage and drug rumors began circulating, that he decided to share his diagnosis and raise awareness. After winning "The Celebrity Apprentice" in 2010, Michaels earned $250,000 for the American Diabetes Association.

Story highlights

"Do celebrities have an impact on health outcomes? We know they do," one expert says

(CNN)When celebrities speak, it seems, the world listens -- even when it comes to personal and public health.

Just look at what happened after Charlie Sheen's HIV disclosure two years ago, said John Ayers, a research professor at San Diego State University.

Sales of in-home HIV testing kits reached record highs around the same time the actor announced that he had been diagnosed as HIV-positive in 2015, according to a study published in the journal Prevention Science on Thursday. Ayers was a co-author of the study.

About the same time, "in record numbers, people were going online, seeking out information on what the signs of HIV are, on how to find and appropriately prevent HIV with devices such as condoms and also how to get tested,'" Ayers said. "We've seen this ... many times over."

The researchers found that there were 8,225 more sales than they expected the week of Sheen's HIV status announcement. Elevated sales continued for four weeks after Sheen's disclosure.

The findings show a correlation, not a direct causation. Yet in a previous study, Ayers and his colleagues also found that Google searches for HIV testing and related topics also spiked after Sheen's announcement.

"The most common reaction is, 'So what? What does a search really mean?' Our new study shows not only did Sheen's disclosure lead people to seek information about HIV prevention, it also corresponded with record levels of at-home rapid HIV testing sales," Ayers said.

Though they are not doctors, many celebrities have had both positive and negative ties to public health in recent years.

When celebrities open up about their health

"The positive example I often point to is when Magic Johnson talked about being HIV-positive, which provided a moment to bust stigma around HIV," said Steven Hoffman, scientific director of the Institute of Population and Public Health in Canada and director of the University of Ottawa's Global Strategy Lab.

In 1991, when most people didn't have much information about the virus and the Internet was not commonly used, the American basketball star announced that he had tested positive for HIV and retired from the NBA.

"Here was a very prominent athlete who is publicly disclosing being HIV-positive and opening up conversation around it for people," said Hoffman, who was not involved in the latest study. "I think that's an example highlighting the positive role that celebrity can play in informing health decisions."

Yet while Johnson's HIV disclosure spurred questions and conversations, since the virus was still unfamiliar, Sheen's disclosure was linked to action, Ayers said.

After Sheen's announcement, about 1.25 million people in the United States searched online for topics directly related to condoms, HIV symptoms or HIV testing, according to Ayers' previous study, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine last year.

That study involved analyzing Google Trends and search term data from 2004 through November 2015, which included when Sheen disclosed his HIV status on November 17, 2015.

The researchers found that Sheen's announcement corresponded with the greatest number of HIV-related Google searchers ever recorded in the US. But Sheen didn't make an immediate call to action for the public to get tested or use condoms, and public health groups didn't use him as a face to raise HIV awareness.

JUST WATCHED

Celebrities who changed the face of HIV

MUST WATCH

Celebrities who changed the face of HIV01:08

Therefore, Sheen's disclosure was an example of how -- without the celebrity or public health leaders calling for action -- the public appeared to still respond based on health information that was widely known, Ayers said.

"When Magic Johnson made his disclosure, there wasn't a similar reaction. There couldn't be, because people didn't know what to do," Ayers said.

"Remember, people (were)asking, 'Can he play basketball?' 'Can I shake his hand?' There wasn't this trove of information about HIV, HIV prevention and HIV testing. When Sheen disclosed, there was this trove of information," he said. "We saw people seeking out information on the signs of HIV, HIV testing and how to prevent HIV by using condoms. We saw this trilogy of reaction that is fairly consistent with what public health has been promoting for 20-plus years."

JUST WATCHED

The 'Angelina effect' on cancer

MUST WATCH

The 'Angelina effect' on cancer02:22

Kami Kosenko, an associate professor of health communication at North Carolina State University, said that she believes actress Angelina Jolie's 2013 announcement of a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer also had a positive influence on public health, despite possibly influencing an uptick in unnecessary genetic testing.

Kosenko led a study in which 229 women were surveyed immediately after Jolie's announcement to undergo a double mastectomy. Researchers looked at whether Jolie influenced the women's genetic testing intentions.

JUST WATCHED

Jolie's op-ed prompts women's health discussion

MUST WATCH

Jolie's op-ed prompts women's health discussion06:07

The study, published in the Journal of Health Communication last year, showed that 30% of the women intended to get tested to see whether they carried the BRCA1 gene, 23% said they would probably get tested, and 7% said they would definitely get tested. The others reported that they would not get tested.

"We rely heavily on friends and family for health information, and we tend to see certain celebrities as friends. Unfortunately, we do not share the same resources as these famous 'friends,' which impacts our ability to follow celebrity health advice," she said. "For example, at the time of Jolie's announcement, the genetic tests she underwent were prohibitively expensive for the average American."

There are examples of celebrities having a potentially harmful influence on public health too, said Hoffman, director of the University of Ottawa's Global Strategy Lab.

'I do blame celebrities'

"The most prominent example of harm would be, in my mind, Jenny McCarthy," Hoffman said.

The American actress has been a vocal autism activist, spreading concerns that autism might be associated with childhood vaccines.

McCarthy was unavailable for comment, but her representative said she addressed her stance on vaccines in an op-ed published in the Chicago Sun-Times in 2014, headlined "The gray area on vaccines."

Her son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism. She believes that doctors should change some children's vaccine schedules, such as allowing for one shot per doctor's visit instead of multiple shots, she wrote in the op-ed.

"I am not 'anti-vaccine.' This is not a change in my stance nor is it a new position that I have recently adopted. For years, I have repeatedly stated that I am, in fact, 'pro-vaccine' and for years I have been wrongly branded as 'anti-vaccine,' " McCarthy wrote.

"My beautiful son, Evan, inspired this mother to question the 'one size fits all' philosophy of the recommended vaccine schedule," she wrote. "I embarked on this quest not only for myself and my family, but for countless parents who shared my desire for knowledge that could lead to options and alternate schedules, but never to eliminate the vaccines."

"She is actually recommending practices that are unhealthful and potentially dangerous," Hoffman said about McCarthy's stance on changing vaccine schedules.

"Recommending to people not to vaccinate their children means not only are the children being subjected to unnecessary harm, but many others around those children who might not be able to get vaccinated for legitimate reasons are put at an additional risk ask well," he said. "It's not only unfair to the children who aren't being vaccinated, but also to the many people who can't be vaccinated, who interact with those children."

Even though they are vulnerable to illness, some people may not be able to get certain vaccines based on age, an allergy or pre-existing health condition, or other factors, according to the CDC.

Public health experts also have accused actress Gwyneth Paltrow of spreading some questionable health tips through her lifestyle blog, goop.

In a written statement, goop spokeswoman Noora Raj Brown described the website as pushing "new ideas into the conversation" in health and wellness.

"We have a disclaimer on the bottom of every article that states the purpose is to highlight alternative studies and induce conversation. It's not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The views of the experts profiled don't necessarily represent the views of goop," the statement said.

"Gwyneth Paltrow's messages, it's mostly that she's recommending practices that don't work," Hoffman said. "The biggest harm is the loss or waste of money and the misplaced attention away from practices that actually work."

A jade egg on goop costs about $66. Hoffman said that the money could be better spent on buying nutritious foods or a gym membership.

"Do celebrities have an impact on health outcomes? We know they do. ... There's so many studies out there that have demonstrated that when celebrities either give helpful or harmful advice to people, it's routinely followed," Hoffman said.

"I do blame celebrities, because they need to recognize the impact they can have and the potential harm that can result from it," he said. "I definitely blame those who are spreading misinformation."

How celebrities have hacked public health talks

Hoffman and his colleagues published a review paper in the British Medical Journal to analyze the influence celebrities have on people's health decisions through the factors of economics, marketing, psychology and sociology.

"In marketing literature, they talk about a halo effect around celebrities, whereby people have a very positive view of celebrities, and when celebrities endorse a product or recommend a particular health practice, it transfers their golden glow from the celebrity to the products or practice," Hoffman said.

"In economics literature, there's recognition of something called signaling, which is whereby in a marketplace filled with competing ideas, people are constantly looking for a shortcut in order to identify which products or practices they should be following, and so a celebrity endorsing a product provides a cognitive shortcut to an otherwise very complicated decision," he said. "There is increasing recognition of the role of social networks, and there's few people who have bigger social networks than celebrities. Just think of the number of Twitter followers some celebrities have cultivated."

However, Ayers, author of the latest study, said it might not be that complicated.

"It's not so much about a celebrity effect," he said, adding that when celebrities speak out about health-related issues, it may resonate because they are speaking as humans with just as much vulnerability to health impacts as anyone else.

"Typically, public health uses top-down strategies. The most effective messages are believed to come from the experts, 'from the top.' The people who know the most about the subject, the people who are paid to sit around and think about the subject," Ayers said.

"It turns out, though, that if you look at the Sheen effect and if you look at these other examples of organic media events ... that's not the case. These messages, they come from the bottom; they come from ordinary people. People who aren't health experts. Sheen might be a celebrity, but he's not a health expert. Angelina Jolie is not a health expert," he said.

All in all, Hoffman said, public health officials could work with celebrities to harness their fame to spread evidence-based health information and mitigate the spread of misinformation.

He cited supermodel Christy Turlington Burns as a positive example of a celebrity working with public health authorities to promote positive health practices. She served as a spokeswoman in CDC promotional ads raising awareness about smoking cessation and the health risks of smoking.

Join the conversation

See the latest news and share your comments with CNN Health on Facebook and Twitter.

Ayers said he saw public health officials utilize the power of Sheen's celebrity in real time, not during but after his HIV announcement.

"It turns out that actually because of our study, we got to see those things happen. When we published our study, a few weeks later, Charlie Sheen began speaking out about HIV prevention, particularly condoms, and he cited our study as one of the reasons for doing that," Ayers said of the study on Google searches. "We also saw several leading organizations in HIV prevention begin to use Charlie Sheen's disclosure as a way to promote HIV prevention."

Hoffman said it would be beneficial to see more examples of celebrities and public health leaders working together in the future.

"I think there probably are a lot of celebrities who want to do good and would be open to the idea of working with public health officials to do good," he said. "We just need to still figure out the best way of doing that, in terms of what would be most effective."

For now, to make informed health decisions, Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, offered some guidance in an email.

"Get a second opinion," he wrote. "Trust but verify celebrity statements from trusted health sources like the American Cancer Society, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, APHA, American Academy of Pediatrics" and others.